Skip to main content
Trustpilot
Home
  • 01273 917479

  • My booking
      • Make a Payment
      • View my booking
      • Essential travel advice
      • Visas
      • ESTA (for USA travel)
      • Log in
Home
  • Tailor-made holidays
    Tailor-made holidays
    • By type

      • Round the world holidays
      • Where to go when
      • Trip of a lifetime holidays
      • Honeymoons
      • Island holidays
      • Multi-destination holidays
      • Business class holidays
      • Long haul family holidays
      • Food and wine holidays
      • Road trips
      • Weddings
      • Group tours
    • By destination

      • Africa holidays
      • Asia holidays
      • Australia holidays
      • New Zealand holidays
      • North America holidays
      • South America holidays
      • South Pacific holidays
    • See all tailor-made holidays

      • All tailor-made holidays
  • Round the world flights
    Round the world flights
    • Round the world flights

      • Round the world flights
      • Why book round the world flights?
      • Round the world holidays
    • Business class flights

      • Business class round the world flights
      • Business class flights to Australia
      • Business class flights to New Zealand
      • First Class round the world flights
  • Destinations
    Destinations
    • Most popular

      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Borneo
      • Brazil
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • Cook Islands
      • Costa Rica
      • Fiji
      • French Polynesia
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Maldives
      • Mauritius
      • New Caledonia
      • New Zealand
      • Peru
      • Rwanda
      • Seychelles
      • South Africa
      • Sri Lanka
      • Tanzania
      • Thailand
      • Uganda
      • USA
      • Vietnam
    • See all destinations

      • All destinations A-Z
  • Blog
  • More
      • Our latest trips
      • Meet our team
      • Why book with us
      • Customer reviews
      • About us
      • Travel Insurance
      • Travel Nation app
      • Save on travel eSIMs
      • Save 20% on Water-to-Go
      • Make a payment
      • Contact us
      • View my booking
      • Essential travel advice
      • Visas
      • ESTA (for USA travel)
      • Round the world holidays
      • Where to go when
      • Trip of a lifetime holidays
      • Honeymoons
      • Island holidays
      • Multi-destination holidays
      • Business class holidays
      • Long haul family holidays
      • Food and wine holidays
      • Road trips
      • Weddings
      • Group tours
      • Africa holidays
      • Asia holidays
      • Australia holidays
      • New Zealand holidays
      • North America holidays
      • South America holidays
      • South Pacific holidays
      • All tailor-made holidays
      • Round the world flights
      • Why book round the world flights?
      • Round the world holidays
      • Business class round the world flights
      • Business class flights to Australia
      • Business class flights to New Zealand
      • First Class round the world flights
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Borneo
      • Brazil
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • Cook Islands
      • Costa Rica
      • Fiji
      • French Polynesia
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Maldives
      • Mauritius
      • New Caledonia
      • New Zealand
      • Peru
      • Rwanda
      • Seychelles
      • South Africa
      • Sri Lanka
      • Tanzania
      • Thailand
      • Uganda
      • USA
      • Vietnam
      • All destinations A-Z
  • Blog
    • Our latest trips
    • Meet our team
    • Why book with us
    • Customer reviews
    • About us
    • Travel Insurance
    • Travel Nation app
    • Save on travel eSIMs
    • Save 20% on Water-to-Go
    • Make a payment
    • Contact us
    • View my booking
    • Essential travel advice
    • Visas
    • ESTA (for USA travel)
  • 01273 917479

  • My booking
      • Make a Payment
      • View my booking
      • Essential travel advice
      • Visas
      • ESTA (for USA travel)
      • Log in
Hit enter to search

5 Reasons to stay at a guesthouse in Tahiti

Milly

By Milly Gill

Product Manager at Travel Nation

Posts (66) See Milly 's profile

TripBlogs

In the far-flung islands of French Polynesia, you’ll find a unique accommodation style, spread across the paradise atolls and archipelagos that make up this region. Known locally as pensions, these tiny local guesthouses are run by friendly islanders who can’t wait to welcome you into their beautiful homes.

Stay in a local guesthouse in Tahiti | Photo credit: Helene Havard and Tahiti Tourisme

Although French Polynesia is famous for the gorgeous overwater bungalows of Tahiti and Bora Bora, there are plenty of other accommodation options that can deliver a brilliant holiday to the South Pacific. Staying at a guesthouse in Tahiti will give you a glimpse into local life and add real character to your trip. 

At Travel Nation, we love including these guesthouses in our itineraries. Here are just a few reasons why…

Meet the friendly locals in French Polynesia | Photo credit: Tahiti Tourisme

1. See French Polynesia more affordably

If you’re trying to keep your holiday within a specific price range, a trip to the South Pacific can feel intimidatingly expensive. However, choose the right guesthouses and you can enjoy a spectacular holiday in this beautiful region for an incredibly reasonable price.

Another brilliant way to make the most of your money is to include French Polynesia as part of a round the world holiday – the flight routes and tickets that Travel Nation can put together are both fantastic value and full of exciting combinations of places.

If you want to fill your days with activities, then staying in guesthouses is the perfect way to adjust your budget to include this. Go quad biking in the mountains of Moorea, learn to dive in the crystal-clear lagoon in Rangiroa and soar over Bora Bora in on a scenic heli flight – a few nights in more simple accommodation can allow some brilliant activities to fit into your budget.

Explore the beautiful atoll of Ahe | Travel Nation | Photo Credit © Stéphane Mailion Photography
Round the world flights
Remote Polynesian islands: beaches & culture trip
17 days
from £4,800 pp
includes flights
Pink sand beach, Tikehau, French Polynesia
Round the world flights
Untouched French Polynesia holiday: Rangiroa, Tikehau and Fakarava
15 days
from £3,615 pp
includes flights
Meet the welcoming locals of the Austral Islands | Photo credit: Tahiti Tourisme
Round the world flights
Discover the Austral Islands: Rurutu, Tubuai and Raivavae
17 days
from £3,930 pp
includes flights

2. Enjoy a more varied holiday

Although sometimes a luxury holiday is just what the doctor ordered, it’s also exciting to mix up your accommodation and enjoy a more varied holiday. Why not start with a stay in a high-end hotel, perfect for shaking off the jet lag and relaxing for a few days before moving to a couple of different islands to enjoy an authentic local guesthouse experience?

Meet the locals, learn about life on a tropical island and generally soak in the fascinating culture that French Polynesia has in droves. Then, you can finish with a luxury hotel at the end of your trip, with an overwater bungalow over the blue lagoons, as a real treat before you head home. We love combining these experiences together, you don’t just have to choose one!

Stay in local guesthouse in Tahiti | Photo credit: Helene Havard and Tahiti Tourisme

3. Get further off the grid

The most popular islands of Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora have a pleasant mixture of accommodations – small guesthouses, excellent 3* hotels and luxury high-end resorts with overwater bungalows jutting out over the pristine water. However, if you are looking to venture further afield, then many of the outer islands only offer guesthouse-style accommodation.

Look for dolphins in the large lagoon of Rangiroa, dive into the pristine depths of Fakarava and get off the grid in the coconut groves of Ahe, in the Tuamotu Islands. Or why not head to the northernmost archipelago, the Marquesas Islands, to hike the rugged mountains, see the famous horses on the volcanic beaches and learn about the local Marquesan culture?

Sleep in rustic, cosy bungalows at Ninamu Resort, Tikehau | Photo credit: Ninamu Resort

4. Experience authentic Tahitian culture

If you’re looking to really learn about Tahitian culture, staying in a Tahitian guesthouse should be your top priority. These tiny places are run by real locals, often living onsite and cooking your breakfast and dinner for you each day. You can learn so much about their lives; not just the history and cultural ancestry but also what modern life is like in such a unique place.

It’s also a fantastic experience for children – bringing your family to this beautiful place would not only be a relaxing beach holiday but also a fascinating lesson into a culture on the other side of the world and how they are affected by the political and climate issues we all share.

See traditional dancing in Tahiti | Photo credit: Vincent Wargnier and Tahiti Tourisme

5. Disconnect from the world

Sometimes we all need to disconnect for a while – no internet, no phones, no problems, right? French Polynesia is the perfect place to live by this mantra, getting out into the vast corners of the Pacific to just soak up the relaxing tranquillity of these tiny islands.

The further out you go, the quieter it gets – you can find genuine peace in islands like Rangiroa, Ahe, Nuku Hiva and Tubuai. Spend your time immersing yourself in a new culture, trying brand new foods and soaking up the ocean landscapes of the South Pacific.

A guesthouse stay is the best way to enjoy this – while lots of them do have wifi, many guests choose not to use it, only taking out phones to snap some photos and heading to bed to views of the sunset rather than the television. Digital detox? Yes, please!

Explore castaway beaches from Le Mahana on Huahine | Photo credit: Le Mahana Hotel

Ready to book your guesthouse stay in French Polynesia?

If you’d like to book a holiday to French Polynesia with a stay in a Tahitian guesthouse, then look no further! Whether you want to swim with manta rays in Tikehau, learn about local culture in the Marquesas Islands or admire the views of Mount Otemanu in Bora Bora, we can plan your dream French Polynesia holiday.

To start planning, simply give us a call on 1273 320 580 or request a quote. We are experts in planning tailor-made holidays to French Polynesia, as well as round the world flights, so we can work together with you until we’ve created your perfect trip.

Request a quote

Moorea soars out of the ocean
Round the world flights
Island hopping holiday in Tahiti
19 days
from £5,325 pp
includes flights
Discover tropical paradise in Bora Bora | Travel Nation
Round the world flights
Huahine and the Society Islands beach holiday
16 days
from £4,310 pp
includes flights
Wade in the tropical lagoon of Bora Bora
Round the world flights
Authentic holiday in French Polynesia: 4 island hop
15 days
from £3,400 pp
includes flights
Explore castaway beaches from Le Mahana on Huahine | Photo credit: Le Mahana Hotel

Visit Huahine Island: a little slice of heaven

Milly

Milly Gill

Product Manager
at Travel Nation

View Post
Swing in a hammock on Tikehau in French Polynesia | Travel Nation

Which French Polynesian island is best for you?

Milly

Milly Gill

Product Manager
at Travel Nation

View Post
Swing in a hammock on tropical Tikehau | Travel Nation

11 Enchanting French Polynesian islands you’ve never heard of

Bryony

Bryony Dunn

Marketing Manager
at Travel Nation

View Post
Milly

About the author Milly Gill

Product Manager

Fresh out of high school, Milly left her home comforts behind and set off to work in a school in Thailand for a year. Whilst working in Thailand she managed to explore Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and China before uni. In the breaks from her English & American Literature degree she interned for Travel Nation, eventually joining our team in 2014. Milly is fascinated by wildlife and food and weaves these elements into both her own trips and those she plans for others. Her natural instinct for building fascinating trips that take you off the beaten track inform the trips she plans and she currently works as our Product Manager sourcing great hotels and itineraries for our customers.


Read Milly 's profile
Pink sunsets in Mauritius | Travel Nation

Last trip:

Mauritius
Enjoy views over the stunning Aitutaki Lagoon | Travel Nation

Next trip:

Cook Islands
Milly

More from

Milly ...

  • Admire the traditional fishing nets in Kerala | Travel Nation

    15 incredible India package holidays

  • Milly and her husband in Antarctica | Travel Nation

    My Antarctica Expedition Cruise with Albatros Expeditions

  • Relax by the pool at the Royal Heritage Haveli in Jaipur | Photo credit: Royal Heritage Haveli

    Our 9 favourite heritage hotels in India

Read Milly 's Profile

Editors Pick

  • Where to go in September | Travel Nation

    Where to go in September

    By Bryony Dunn

  • The views of the sparkling Lake Wanaka is nothing short of magnificent

    New Zealand South Island tours: 8 of our favourites

    By Milly Gill

  • Infinity pool at Pacific Resort Aitutaki, Cook Islands | Travel Nation

    Barefoot bliss: 9 Cook Islands luxury resorts

    By Annette Morrissey

  • From Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 is the longest of our classic road trips

    8 ideas for an incredible American road trip

    By Milly Gill


On a similar theme

  • Moai Statues, Easter Island, Chile

    How to travel to Easter Island to see the Moai head statues

    By Chris West

  • David in Fiji

    Fiji & the islands: where to go & what to see on holiday

    By David Taylor

  • A view across the bay towards El Nido

    Island-hopping and diving in the Philippines

    By Sara Strachan

  • A turtle and fish swimming in a coral reef

    5 Incredible coral reefs to dive or snorkel around the world

    By Chris West

  • Muri Lagoon, Cook Islands

    This is why we love the Cook Islands!

    By Adam Slingsby


Image
Footer

Call us on 01273 917479

Nile House, Nile Street, Brighton, BN1 1HW, United Kingdom

Sign up for emails Sign me up

  • Privacy Policy
  • Website terms of use
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Business Class
  • Group Travel
  • Weddings
  • Work for us
  • Your financial protection
  • About us

Copyright © 2025 Travel Nation Ltd

Request a quote